Not much to say as the photo above is way above my skill level.
here are a couple of shots from london zoo shot on Eos350D and 24-105L at F4

Very nice shots! I'll say a few things that would make them even better, since I happen to love wildlife and nature photography.

With both pictures, try to capture some sort of behavior. The number one rule of wildlife photography is to capture some kind of behavior, because when you do the interest of the picture increases greatly. Doesnt matter what it is, could be everything from an animal grooming themselves, to just walking, to hunting their prey, anything that tells a story about the animal really. Animals standing still are great, but when there's any kind of behavior the animal is performing in the picture, it draws the viewer in, and creates a sense of wonder.

For the snake picture, a flicking tongue would have been great to create some more interest, as the viewer would wonder why the snake was flicking its tongue and then that would create a sense of anticipation. Also, it would have been even better if it was shot from a lower angle, like the frog picture was. When you photograph animals from human eye-level, it doesnt help create interest as that's the way people always see animals. That even applies to anything above the eye level of the animal you're photographing. Basically, to really create interest and give the viewer a sense of being on the animals level in their environment, you have to be at the eye level of the animal. Additionally, by taking the picture froma lower angle, you would avoid the ground behind the snake being out of focus, and instead the sky/background would be out of focus, creating some nice seperation between the subject and the background...

For the second, you did capture it from the level of the frog, but the lack of behavior causes a lack of interest. Now image the same picture, but instead the frog was in the process of leaping, with its back legs on the ground and the front legs in the air. BAM! You just photographed the behavior, and in the process created interest and wonder in the eye of the viewer (Ex: Where is the frog leaping to? Is he hunting prey?!) which draws the viewer into the picture.

Now this first picture is just a snapshot and I know the background is distracting, which is why I blurred the background out at 24mm and f/1.4....but the point is to show the interest grabbing effect of photographing behavior....

Here's another example. Not a particularly exciting behavior, the bird was just walking and looking directly at me, but even the simple behavior of walking adds interest, and combined with photographing the bird (White Ibis) from the bird eye level, it adds a sense of seeing the world from the bird's eyes. The bad thing about this photo is the harsh sunlight, a result of taking the picture around 1PM in the afternoon, but I didn't have much choice as this was taken on an uninhabited island off the coast of the southern United States, and I didn't have my choice of times where I would be able to get to the island (Tide, weather conditions, etc all aligned at 1PM) Nonetheless, it still has interest....

One last note, besides the behavior rule, the other biggest rule of wildlife and portrait/people photography is to focus on the eyes. By doing so, it makes the viewer feel as though they are connecting with the animal/person, and people are naturally wired to first look at someones/somethings eyes, so it only makes sense to focus on the eyes!

One last note, besides the behavior rule, the other biggest rule of wildlife and portrait/people photography is to focus on the eyes. By doing so, it makes the viewer feel as though they are connecting with the animal/person, and people are naturally wired to first look at someones/somethings eyes, so it only makes sense to focus on the eyes!

For bird photography, don't shoot during a high noon. Always have the sun facing the subject. Morning and evening lights are the best.

Here is my all time favorite shot of a tri-color heron. It is supposed to be a FL native bird. This was shot in NYC outer Brooklyn.

For bird photography, don't shoot during a high noon. Always have the sun facing the subject. Morning and evening lights are the best.

Here is my all time favorite shot of a tri-color heron. It is supposed to be a FL native bird. This was shot in NYC outer Brooklyn.

Hehe, oh I know, I mentioned that too, just above the picture...

"The bad thing about this photo is the harsh sunlight, a result of taking the picture around 1PM in the afternoon, but I didn't have much choice as this was taken on an uninhabited island off the coast of the southern United States, and I didn't have my choice of times where I would be able to get to the island (Tide, weather conditions, etc all aligned at 1PM)"

Very nice shots! I'll say a few things that would make them even better, since I happen to love wildlife and nature photography.

With both pictures, try to capture some sort of behavior. The number one rule of wildlife photography is to capture some kind of behavior, because when you do the interest of the picture increases greatly. Doesnt matter what it is, could be everything from an animal grooming themselves, to just walking, to hunting their prey, anything that tells a story about the animal really. Animals standing still are great, but when there's any kind of behavior the animal is performing in the picture, it draws the viewer in, and creates a sense of wonder.

For the snake picture, a flicking tongue would have been great to create some more interest, as the viewer would wonder why the snake was flicking its tongue and then that would create a sense of anticipation. Also, it would have been even better if it was shot from a lower angle, like the frog picture was. When you photograph animals from human eye-level, it doesnt help create interest as that's the way people always see animals. That even applies to anything above the eye level of the animal you're photographing. Basically, to really create interest and give the viewer a sense of being on the animals level in their environment, you have to be at the eye level of the animal. Additionally, by taking the picture froma lower angle, you would avoid the ground behind the snake being out of focus, and instead the sky/background would be out of focus, creating some nice seperation between the subject and the background...

For the second, you did capture it from the level of the frog, but the lack of behavior causes a lack of interest. Now image the same picture, but instead the frog was in the process of leaping, with its back legs on the ground and the front legs in the air. BAM! You just photographed the behavior, and in the process created interest and wonder in the eye of the viewer (Ex: Where is the frog leaping to? Is he hunting prey?!) which draws the viewer into the picture.

Now this first picture is just a snapshot and I know the background is distracting, which is why I blurred the background out at 24mm and f/1.4....but the point is to show the interest grabbing effect of photographing behavior....

Here's another example. Not a particularly exciting behavior, the bird was just walking and looking directly at me, but even the simple behavior of walking adds interest, and combined with photographing the bird (White Ibis) from the bird eye level, it adds a sense of seeing the world from the bird's eyes. The bad thing about this photo is the harsh sunlight, a result of taking the picture around 1PM in the afternoon, but I didn't have much choice as this was taken on an uninhabited island off the coast of the southern United States, and I didn't have my choice of times where I would be able to get to the island (Tide, weather conditions, etc all aligned at 1PM) Nonetheless, it still has interest....

One last note, besides the behavior rule, the other biggest rule of wildlife and portrait/people photography is to focus on the eyes. By doing so, it makes the viewer feel as though they are connecting with the animal/person, and people are naturally wired to first look at someones/somethings eyes, so it only makes sense to focus on the eyes!

Love the blue tounge skink.
Thank you for the constructive feedback i know about the eye rule for portraits but i will try to put the rest into practice. I am planning another trip to the zoo in spring and will try to get some action shots then. That snake would just not stick out his tounge for love nor money the frogs were just sitting or walking but hey they were very cooperative. the same day i had a monkey flash a smile at me as i walked past his enclosure (it was a split second thing)tried to get a shot but i was laughing too hard to concentrate.

Canon Pimp Club #003
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Albert Einstein"Living in the lap of luxury isn`t bad, except you never know when luxury is going to stand up." Orson Welles

There isn't anyone above me to critique so I will just post my photos. Never mind one was posted. I love the dog pic especially how you set the picture up.a lot of times I see things that distract me in pictures but yours is just right and draws my eyes into the three things in the center of the photo.

I really like this shot and if there are any suggestions please let me know.

This shot is a favorite of mine but I hate how it is not very vibrant. It was taken in a very shaded area. Does anyone know how I could have made this shot not so dull colored.

There isn't anyone above me to critique so I will just post my photos. Never mind one was posted. I love the dog pic especially how you set the picture up.a lot of times I see things that distract me in pictures but yours is just right and draws my eyes into the three things in the center of the photo.

I really like this shot and if there are any suggestions please let me know.

This shot is a favorite of mine but I hate how it is not very vibrant. It was taken in a very shaded area. Does anyone know how I could have made this shot not so dull colored.

The flower picture looks very generic, but also unique at the same time. I love the contrast between the orange and the green. I believe you should have zoomed in on the second picture. At first I could not tell if your focal point was the branch or the little bug type thing on it. If you don't already I would suggest you shoot in RAW and invest in a post processing programm like adobe Lightroom. If you're a student then you can get it for 80% off. In RAW format you can change every aspect of the image to get it to how you want including making the colors pop.

I wish the focal point on the mouse was more to the flurry side, his nose/face, but I keep finding myself drawn to his huge rubbery furless tail, sucking all the cuteness out of it. The table cloth with the many thin horizontal stripes also feels very busy, but at the same time I really like the contrast with the subject.

In the second photo I find that the focal point is also a little off. Initially I'm drawn to the bouquet and the hands, the well manicured fingernails, and the rings -- loyalty, fidelity, purity -- but then my eyes wander to her revealing cleavage and dark prominent bust line, and the image shatters. Should have rotated the bouquet counterclockwise about 3 degrees. However I like the overall image and the blurring of the back, has a very nostalgic feel to it.

Here's one I took of my 20g long from the top-down. Several things wrong with it but I'll wait for a critique

Neat store. Would have been nice to get the shot without the cars but I am sure during the day, that would be near impossible without closing off the lot.

This is a shot I took yesterday. It is a no light shot, my first attempt at long exposure. It was in the basement of my photography teacher's studio. It was a lot of fun and really cool to see how you can get some good pictures in situations with very little to no light. Anyways, thinking about including this one in an exhibition that I will be hanging some of my pictures in....

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